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Remarks of Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray

Massachusetts Biotechnology Council

January 22, 2008

Boston, Massachusetts.

Good afternoon.

Over the past year or so I’ve had the privilege to get to know Craig Mello. As you all know, Dr. Mello shared the Nobel Price in 2006 for the discovery of RNAi.

 

Beyond his brilliance in the lab, Craig is a passionate spokesperson for increasing funding for biomedical research here in Massachusetts. He tells a story that I think characterizes the moment we now find ourselves at very well, and I’d like to share it with you.

 

After he won the Nobel Prize, Craig was invited to the White House to be honored by President Bush. He used that opportunity to lobby the president for increased funding of NIH research programs, and he used an analogy George Bush would understand very well.

 

Craig said that for the past two decades, the investment made by the NIH in biomedical research was like spending money prospecting for oil. We dug a lot of wells. . .we found oil in some. . .and others turned out to be dry holes.

 

That’s the nature of research, but overall we were making steady progress. Then something amazing happened. With the sequencing of the human genome, the discovery of RNAi, and the advances in stem cell research, not only did we strike oil, we hit the biggest gushers we’ve ever seen.

 

Ironically, just when these gushers erupted, the NIH funding fell flat—in fact, in real dollars, federal funding for biomedical research has declined since 2003.

 

This must change.

 

Now is the time, Craig told the president, to harness those gushers, and build the pipelines and refineries we need to channel these amazing opportunities into new treatments for some of the most devastating diseases now facing mankind. We can’t pull back now, or all that oil will spill on to the ground and be wasted.

 

I think Craig Mello’s analogy sums things up pretty nicely. Which is why today, more than ever, Massachusetts must step up and assert its historic leadership role in the life sciences, and push the boundaries of our knowledge to deliver on the promise of improving human health.

 

If we are both aggressive and wise, I believe that in 10 years time we will look back on this moment and mark it as the beginning of a revolution in medicine that eased the suffering of people around the world.

 

In Massachusetts, we may not have crude oil reserves, but we have something more important. We have all of you. . .and your colleagues in laboratories, clinics and boardrooms across this state, who every day personify the most dynamic life sciences cluster in the world.

 

Massachusetts is the global leader in the life sciences, but that doesn’t mean we can be complacent.In this evolving global economy, competition is accelerating and we must act as a Commonwealth to make limited strategic investments to help maintain and grow our preeminent position in this vital industry.

 

This is why Governor Patrick and I have proposed the Life Sciences Initiative which is now under review by the Legislature.This initiative is a mix of direct investments and statutory adjustments that we believe are important to put into action now, both to further the cause of improving public health, and also to support and grow one of the most important sectors of our economy.

 

For example, we propose building the first of its kind in the world stem cell bank and registry. Hosted by UMass Medical School, and developed in collaboration with Harvard, MIT, and other institutions, this stem cell bank will not only accelerate research, it will become a magnet for scientists, both academic and commercial, drawing new talent and investment to Massachusetts.

 

We also propose investing in RNAi and related technologies with a new advanced therapies center at UMass Medical School. We have many of the world’s leading RNAi experts right here in Massachusetts and we should capitalize on that.

 

The RNAi story is a compelling example of the power of discovery.By definition, RNAi had no market prior to 1998, because no one knew it existed. Today, RNAi it is a multi-billion dollar technology, when you consider its impact on research and drug development.

 

RNAi based therapeutics are now being studied for cancer, hepatitis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, AIDS and many other life-threatening diseases. Some of these drugs are already in clinical trials, and hold the prospect for a whole new paradigm in the way we treat disease. Massachusetts must remain at the forefront of this emerging technology.

 

Also, in the Life Sciences Initiative, we want to help fill some of the gap left open by dwindling NIH funding, by making grants available to individual researchers and companies, to support some of their promising early stage programs.

 

And we want to make sure that money is awarded based on scientific merit.

 

Also important, we must update our tax code that so that it fairly reflects the reality of the biotech business model today.

 

By taking these measures, and others outlined in the Life Sciences Initiative, we will secure our place as a global leader for decades to come.

 

Other states, indeed other countries, are putting billions on the table to entice scientists and companies away from Massachusetts.

 

To win, however, we don’t have to match them dollar for dollar, because what we have in Massachusetts can’t be duplicated—the great universities, the great hospitals, the great companies, the dynamic venture funding, the history of discovery and innovation, none of these things can be recreated or bought overnight.

 

We have a critical mass of unique assets here in Massachusetts that differentiates us from the world, and we won’t go wrong by investing in them.

 

So we look forward to the process that is now underway in Legislature, and we hope and trust that we will see action on this initiative very soon.

 

Our proposal is not grandiose, nor is it a giveaway as some have suggested—quite the contrary. We propose some limited strategic investments and regulatory updates that will allow you all to do what you do best.

 

We understand that at the end of the day, it is the private sector that will do the work of commercializing new products based on the innovations that flow from our laboratories.

 

And I know, when there is partnership and synergy between all players in this industry, a wide range of good jobs is the result.

 

A recent study by the Milken Institute showed that for every job created in the life sciences, another 3.6 jobs are created in supporting industries, such as suppliers, vendors, professional services, construction, and so on.

 

The MBC’s own analysis shows that for every dollar invested in a life sciences company, there is a multiplier of five dollars worth of economic activity.That’s a lot of jobs and bang for the buck.

 

We see what’s going on at the national level today, with calls for a stimulus package to help fend off the potential for recession.

 

Well, here in Massachusetts we know that our life sciences sector is growing, and has the potential for even greater gains, which is why we must take action now.

 

I understand the stakes quite well. When I was mayor of Worcester, we were successful in partnering with our institutions to foster and build upon the life sciences cluster in Central Massachusetts.

 

Today, the Massachusetts Biotech Park in Worcester, once a fallow empty field, is home to five major buildings, with nearly 2,000 people working in high quality jobs. An expansion of that park is now in the planning stage.

 

Beyond the jobs, there is life changing work flowing from that park. It’s where Abbott Labs developed Humira, a drug that is now easing the pain of arthritis for people around the world. And that’s just one example of many.

 

Gateway Park, in downtown Worcester, put up its first building last year housing WPI’s Life Sciences Center, and more buildings are planned for this year. All on a reclaimed brownfields site, which the city helped assemble and leverage clean-up funds for.

 

The company Craig Mello co-founded just moved to Gateway Park, and more are on the way.

 

In a recent Price Waterhouse report, it was noted that Worcester is now firmly in place as the western anchor of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Super Cluster.

 

The bottom line is this— through some limited strategic investments by government, and with the substantial support of the private sector, Worcester helped grow its life sciences base.

 

Now we must do that on a statewide level.

 

We must continue to grow in Boston and Cambridge and Worcester, but we also must reach out across the Commonwealth, to Fall River and Springfield and other communities where there are already significant healthcare, academic and commercial assets in place, and where a skilled workforce can easily be trained to take advantage of the opportunities in biotech and related companies.

 

Governor Patrick and I see this as a top priority, and we look forward to working with our partners in the legislature to move this bill soon, so that all of you will have new tools at your disposal to do what you do best.

 

The great hope is that by working together, we will build up our economy, and in doing so, unleash the spirit of innovation that will improve the quality of life for people throughout the world.

 

Thanks very much,

 

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